"Elizabeth Edwards' Walk of Pain," by Rebecca Traister: Why did a brilliant woman subject herself to a tortured media tour following the revelation of her husband's infidelity? She seemed on a mission to regain her dignity. As Traister so eloquently puts it:

One way to do that, of course, is to be the person who says everything that everyone else might be saying behind your back, so that they don't think you're clueless or weak. Another is to develop your own account of what happened, including the vulnerabilities that you are able to turn into strengths by expressing them with grace and beauty. Another is to trash that bitch who banged your husband in front of the whole world, with Oprah on your side.

"Craigslist Xes Out Sex Ads," by Tracy Clark-Flory: In May, Craigslist announced it was shuttering its infamous "erotic services" section and replacing it with an "adult" area, where ads would cost $10 and be rigidly screened for illegal services. Broadsheet spoke with prostitutes who made a guess as to where sex workers would turn next: the streets. But, shortly thereafter, it became clear that Craigslist's supposed turnabout really only "amounted to a dimming of the flashing lights and a renaming of its virtual red light district" — all in response to a crusading state attorney general.

"The Thorn Birds of South Carolina," by Amy Benfer: South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's e-mail exchanges with his mistress, "Maria," were "part morality play, part bodice-ripper" and 100 percent riveting. They also reveal Sanford as "a guy struggling to reconcile his duties as a husband and father with being 'impossibly,' 'hopelessly' in love with another woman." Ah, the timeless appeal of star-crossed sex scandals.

"Reminder: Roman Polanski Raped a Child," by Kate Harding: After the world-renowned director was finally arrested in Switzerland, you wouldn't think those five words — "Roman Polanski raped a child" — needed to be said. However, Broadsheet's Kate Harding was one of the first to say what truly mattered, and in doing so she helped change the national conversation:

Let's keep in mind that Roman Polanski gave a 13-year-old girl a Quaalude and champagne, then raped her, before we start discussing whether the victim looked older than her 13 years, or that she now says she'd rather not see him prosecuted because she can't stand the media attention. Before we discuss how awesome his movies are or what the now-deceased judge did wrong at his trial, let's take a moment to recall that according to the victim's grand jury testimony, Roman Polanski instructed her to get into a jacuzzi naked, refused to take her home when she begged to go, began kissing her even though she said no and asked him to stop; performed cunnilingus on her as she said no and asked him to stop; put his penis in her vagina as she said no and asked him to stop; asked if he could penetrate her anally, to which she replied, "No," then went ahead and did it anyway, until he had an orgasm.

"Cheering for Letterman's Confession," by Mary Elizabeth Williams: The "Late Show" host seemed to have learned a thing or two about how to properly handle a sex scandal from the mistakes of his philandering predecessors: "There were no Mark Sanford-style tears. No John Edwards-esque denials. No John Ensign-y contrite admissions that it was 'absolutely the worst thing I've done in my life.' No shame or blame. Just some straight-up, self-deprecating honesty." In a year of sex, lies and scandals, how refreshing is that?

Well, now there's help. A new organization, with the back-off-bitch-he's-mine name Off the Market, has launched to help keep athletes and their significant others on the straight and narrow.

Founded by Tia Robbins, wife of New York Giants defensive tackle Fred Robbins, "professional mother" Jerika Johnstone, wife of former NFL player Lance Johnstone, and Jasmine Silva, girlfriend of St. Louis Rams safety James Butler, Off the Market promises to "enrich the lives of couples by offering a unique environment, exclusive services, and access to valuable resources for the ultimate benefit and honoring of the relationship between woman and man."

Their invitation-only kickoff event will be Monday in New York, and they promise goody bags from the likes of Tenga, makers of "the best male masturbation aid on the market." It may not be a cocktail waitress, but it's a whole lot cheaper than a divorce settlement. Looking forward, the ladies also hope to "offer a private lesson for strip pole dancing one day or even offer to have a strip pole built in a home" for their clients. Of course they do.

Every relationship deserves regular nurturing and loving attention. So I'm asking — what are the guys doing in all of this, aside from jerking off into the Tenga Flip Hole? In her bio, Silva says that "a successful woman is one that is equally amazing as a mother, a wife and a leader in her field," while Robbins echoes that "women are the rock, the heart, and soul of the relationships." That's right, once again, females are consigned to the role of gatekeepers of the out-of-control masculine libido, clinging hopefully to the stripper pole in exchange for his faithfulness.

Promoting "positive, healthy, sexy, rewarding, fun, and exciting relationships" is all well and good. But the idea that if we just try hard enough, we can buffer ourselves from the heartache of infidelity is kind of bullshit. Beautiful, sexy, smart women get cheated on every day, despite their best efforts. So while we're all for keeping the spark alive, we also note that there's something pretty sad about calling an organization "Off the Market" and having the term apply not to the women it aims to serve, but the men they're trying to hang on to.

But, wait, there’s more! Come back tomorrow and you'll find another gift waiting for you – the second half of our favorite posts of the year. (There were just too many sparkling gems to choose from, if we do say so ourselves.) Think of it as an extended Christmas or an abbreviated Hanukkah. Today, we bring you our top picks under the subjects of reproductive rights and motherhood; tomorrow, it's sex, lies and scandal!

"Where Will Women Go Now?" by Kate Harding: After Dr. George Tiller's murder, women were left with nearly no place to turn for late-term abortions. The importance of this was underscored by the outpouring of personal stories from people who had been under his care. As one patient powerfully put it, his clinic was "our heaven when we were living in hell."

"The Conversion of a Pro-choice Warrior," by Tracy Clark-Flory: Abby Johnson, former director of Planned Parenthood's besieged clinic in Bryan, Texas, abruptly resigned from her job and joined forces with the very antiabortion protesters who had terrorized her for years. The 29-year-old talked to Broadsheet about her sudden "change of heart."

"10 Reasons Abortion Must Be Covered," by Lynn Harris: Anti-choice activists paint the issue of whether health insurance should cover abortion as a complicated issue, but we cut through the noise early on with a simple and straightforward guide to why it isn't complicated, and why denying coverage means denying choice.

"The Opium (and Lion's) Den of Motherhood," by Broadsheet staff: Katie Roiphe waxed poetic about the all-consuming love she felt during the first six weeks with her second child in a provocative essay in Double X, "My Newborn Is Like a Narcotic." (Provocative subhead: "Why won't feminists admit the pleasure of infants?") It turned out to be a bit of a Rorschach for us. Some thought it feminist backlash, others called it a moving paean.

"Lay Off Those Not-So-Glamorous Teen Moms," by Amy Benfer: A report finding that the teen birthrate had risen led to an attack on "romantic" and "glorious" portrayals of teen motherhood. But as former teen mom Amy Benfer points out, you can’t pin this one on "Juno," Jamie Lynn and Bristol Palin, whose stories, by the way, weren't the least bit "glamorous."

"Sarah Palin, One Tough Mama," by Amanda Fortini: When Palin resigned as Alaska governor, she left dropped jaws and question marks in her wake. But looking at her short, powerful public career offered an indelible lesson about the "appeal of the strong, confident, maternal woman." Being a "mama grizzly" doesn't exactly qualify one to be vice president, but "the tough mother persona was one we hadn't seen before in a female candidate running at the national level" -- and it's a trope that isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon.

But this year, with its list of finalists for Female Athlete of the Year, the Associated Press chose to honor an overlooked category of sportswomen, one definitely not (we hope, anyway) centered on fuckability: The equine division. No, I don't mean "equestrian" -- out of the top 10 vote-getters, two were horses. All of the male finalists, just in case you were wondering, were human.

Now, I don't doubt that Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra are a credit to their sport -- in fact, Zenyatta was the first ever female horse to win the Breeder's Cup Classic, while Rachel was the first filly to win the Preakness since 1924. Way to bust the glass ceiling, gals! Nevertheless, I can't help noticing that they are not human, which -- call me speciesist -- is something I usually expect from an "athletes of the year" list. Perhaps if the AP folks had given the subject a bit more thought, they might instead have chosen to honor, say, Rosemary Homeister, who in 2009 became the second most successful female jockey of all time. Or, you know, any other two women in sports, leaving Zenyatta and Rachel to duke it out for Horse of the Year. Something more like that?

The AP's official pick for Female Athlete of the Year was announced today, and I'm happy to report that human being Serena Williams took the title, beating out the second place winner by 48 votes. You know who that was, though? Zenyatta! Kim Clijsters, Lindsey Vonn and Diana Taurasi, all of whom placed after the mare, can suck it, apparently. 

The good news for the runners up -- and other actual female athletes -- is that it seems Zenyatta won't be racing in 2010, so maybe more two-legged candidates will stand a chance next year. As long as they're hot, of course.

Here's the thing, though: The confessed killer will still be allowed to argue that he snuffed out Tiller to save the "unborn children" the doctor would have aborted. This could potentially pave the way for a lesser conviction like voluntary manslaughter, which is defined under state law as the "unreasonable but honest belief that circumstances existed that justified deadly force." Roeder's belief -- that it was necessary to kill Tiller to prevent the doctor from "murdering more babies" -- seems to meet those requirements. Unreasonable? Check. (Abortion is legal, remember.) Honest? Yep, there' s no doubt he's a man of strong convictions.

Isn't that nice? Potentially reduce your sentence to less than 10 years in prison by arguing: I unreasonably broke the law, yeah, but I really believed it had to be done. That said, the judge "might limit what the defense can say in opening statements, and indicated it would be difficult to allow testimony indicating Roeder was acting in defense of others because the law requires an 'imminent threat,'" according to the Los Angeles Times. However, the defense team previously requested a list of Tiller's clinic appointments scheduled for both before and after his death -- presumably to argue that there was indeed an "imminent threat."

We'll just have to wait and see when the trial kicks off on Jan. 11.